Anthony Lolli is a real estate developer and founder of the Brooklyn-based brokerage firm Rapid Realty.[1][2][3][4]
Youth and education
Anthony Lolli was born in New York City. His father was a teacher and his mother immigrated from Ecuador.[5] Lolli attended John Jay High School and then went to Brooklyn-based Kingsborough College.[6]
Real estate career
He entered the real estate industry in 1998, at the age of 19.[5] He founded Rapid Realty at the age of 21.[7][8] According to Lolli, in 2009, Rapid Realty became the first rental-based real-estate franchise system in the US.[7] Lolli has stated that franchising became necessary for growth, because it gave top sales talent the opportunity to own their own business rather than simply managing it.[9][10]
In 2013, the company expanded to California and Massachusetts. By 2014, Rapid Realty had become the largest rental-based real estate brokerage in New York City.[citation needed] The company uses an "assembly line" style sales process, wherein the commission generated from a transaction is split among multiple agents who each played a different role in the deal, as well as their franchisees, and the parent company.[8] Lolli has stated that he hires people with no previous experience, claiming that they have not yet developed any bad habits.[8] That year,[when?] Rapid Realty began a policy where sales agents who received a tattoo of the Rapid Realty logo would receive a raise.[11][12]
Lolli also founded Express Real Estate School,[6] which trains licensed real estate agents.[13] In addition to his rental agency company, Lolli has owned investment properties and a vacation home in Ecuador.[14]
Recognition
In 2013, Lolli won Golden Bridge's Entrepreneur of the Year Award,[15][16] the first real estate businessperson to receive the award.[5] He also received a Silver Stevie Award from the International Business Awards.[9]
Publications
Lolli's first book, The Heart of the Deal, a memoir of his career in real estate as well as a guide to investing, was published in June 2017.[17][18]